


Social Networking Encourages Stalkerish Tendencies

by let_me_wander



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 15:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/let_me_wander/pseuds/let_me_wander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Merlin is an adorable nerd and Arthur becomes a bit of an internet stalker. And everyone is on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first go at a fanfic for Merlin, partly inspired by the story Pairing Pendragon/Merlin. I first posted it to fanfiction.net and after it evolved somewhat beyond my expectations, and after some editing and whatnot, I can safely declare it finished.
> 
> None of the tumblr usernames used here are based on real people, though after I finished the fic, I went and checked and a lot of the urls are actually taken (though a lot of them are inactive blogs, boooo.) So if somehow someone is reading this and I used your name, I apologize. Practically all the good urls are already taken, so yeah.
> 
> Also, tumblr is a major part of the story, but hopefully if you aren't familiar with how the site works, you can still understand what's going on. I tried to keep things fairly simple and formatted the text so you know what is a computer message and what is a text and whatnot. Besides that, I threw in bits and things from other fandoms, but I really don't think those are necessary to follow the story. 
> 
> Warning: Homophobic anon hate. Also, I am American, so there may be a lack of or misuse of British terms? Please correct me if I wrote something that is incorrect so I can fix it.

Sometimes Merlin wondered if he spent too much time on the internet. It was probably unhealthy that the first thing he did when he came home was turn on his laptop. But he couldn't entirely bring himself to care, and it's not as if he had anything better to do; he wasn't like normal people who spent their free time doing sports or playing musical instruments. Nope, his hobby was obsessing over books, movies, and television shows over the internet.

He opened up tumblr, scrolling down his dashboard to check the new posts. Despite how often he was on, he wasn't exactly one of the tumblr famous people. Merlin followed over two hundred people, but he only had a little over twenty followers himself. Of those twenty, he only really interacted with four of them. And two of them were IRL friends.

Will ( **will-is-me** on tumblr) was the one who first told him about the site two years ago. He'd been one of his best friends since they were six years old and they lived in the same neighborhood. They didn't live near each other anymore, since Will had gone away to college, and Merlin went to the nearby university and lived at home, but they stayed in touch. Will was a graphic designer and internet comic artist. (Though he claimed he was the next Hussie, his comics hadn't really caught anyone's attention.)

His other friend, Guinevere ( **ladygwen** on tumblr), was someone he met in his medieval lit class. They had bonded over the fact that they both were named after characters from Arthurian legend and discovered that they had a lot of the same interests.

He saw that she had reblogged a Harry Potter gifset from the fifth movie with the comment:

_Wow, look at all that teen angst._

He reblogged it from her and added:

_At least Dan got a haircut before Harry turned emo._

Merlin preferred to add his own commentary to posts, trying to be funny or clever as much as he could. After all, there were tons of people who could add the gif of Harry from the Potter Puppet Pals going "Angst, angst, angst." And he couldn't count the number of posts where people just added overused phrases like "MY OVARIES" or "OMG I CAN'T." Merlin didn't even have ovaries. Alas, he still didn't have many followers, so maybe he wasn't as interesting as he liked to think he was.

He scrolled down a bit more, pressing the little heart icon to like a post of a cute cat gif. Then he saw a post by **onceandfutureking**.

 **Onceandfutureking** was everything Merlin wasn't. He was witty and funny and he made his own gifs and fanvids and did in-depth analysis of scenes from shows and movies. Occasionally he even did personal posts or videos. Not only was he talented and smart, he was freaking gorgeous. And he was involved with pretty much everything. If there was a fandom worth being in, he was in it. **Onceandfutureking** had over thirty thousand followers.

So maybe Merlin had a bit of a crush. But so did half of the internet, and could you blame them? There weren't that many guys who were willing to brave the fangirls on the internet fandoms, and the ones who were, generally were overweight hermits or gangly nerds like Merlin.

 **Onceandfutureking** 's most recent post was about the latest episode of Doctor Who. Merlin bit his lip and added it to his liked posts to read later; he hadn't seen the most recent episode yet, due to an essay he'd had to finish.

 **Bigbadwitch** and **limegreenknight** , his other tumblr friends—the ones he didn't know IRL, but who he actually interacted with on a regular basis—had reblogged his post on Morgan LeFey and added snarky commentary of their own, which had spiraled into a bit of an argument, though that was fairly normal for them. He had started talking to both of them because of Guin. Apparently they had known each other since high school and when Guin reblogged so many of their posts, and they saw the posts she reblogged from Merlin, they had inevitably started talking.

He grinned and reblogged their argument with the comment:

_Okay children, settle down. I know you actually love each other._

Merlin scrolled down a bit further, past a bunch of posts he didn't care much about. Then he got to another post by **onceandfutureking** , this one about Tom Hiddleston. He didn't often reblog things by him; mostly because he felt like whatever he said wouldn't even compare to whatever **onceandfutureking** had to say, and he maybe had a bit of an inferiority complex, but whatever, he was in a good mood that day.

He reblogged and started to type:

_Sigh. I would totally have his children. You know, if I had the right reproductive organs for it._

He giggled (it was a manly giggle, not at all a fangirl giggle) and then his mother called up, "Merlin! Would you please set the table for dinner?"

He glanced at the time, surprised that it was so late already, and shut his laptop before heading down the stairs.

* * *

Stepping out of the bathroom from his shower, Arthur turned his computer on to give it time to start up while he dried off and got dressed. He hadn't had a chance to check his blog all day and wanted to see if there were any new things of interest. Most of his followers just liked or reblogged posts without really commenting on them. It made him a little paranoid at times, and a little aggravated that he couldn't get a good discussion going, but he figured they wouldn't be following him if they didn't like him.

Sitting down to look at his posts, he noticed someone had reblogged and added something. It wasn't anything particularly brilliant, but it did call attention to the fact that a) this person was a guy who b) liked Tom Hiddleston, who also happened to be a guy.

Arthur knew that logically there had to be other guys besides him who were fanboys, but he also knew that the majority of his followers were fangirls. It was just a fact of fandoms.

He clicked on the username. **Merlinsbeard**. The voice in Arthur's head gave a snort. Who would pick _merlinsbeard_ as their username?

Whoever he was, his blog was fairly typical. Lots of reblogged pictures and gifs from Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock, etc., with a few posts of his own here and there, mostly about Arthurian legend. Arthur had a love of Arthurian legend himself, being named after King Arthur, and obviously having chosen his username based on the book by T.H. White. But Arthur had figured **merlinsbeard** had more to do with Harry Potter than the actual Merlin of legend.

He saw a post about Morgan LeFey and that both his sister Morgana and his friend Gwaine had reblogged and argued over. He raised an eyebrow, wondering how two of his friends had come to be following this person without him knowing. Now that he was looking, he spotted another post that **merlinsbeard** had reblogged from **ladygwen.**

Ah. That's why.

While the break up between him and Guin was mutual, he still felt awkward around her, especially considering the fact that he'd come out as gay shortly after. She had been very understanding, but things really weren't the same between them afterwards. He had made a point of pretending he didn't know her blog existed, figuring it would be weird if her gay ex-boyfriend started following her on tumblr.

Nonetheless, this guy's blog seemed interesting and he actually contributed to discussions and offered his opinions. The fact that he was probably a guy was an added bonus.

Despite the large number of followers he had accumulated, Arthur was very selective about who he followed. Originally, he would follow back anyone who followed him, but after the first hundred people or so, his dashboard had been cluttered with posts he didn't care about and conversations that didn't concern him. He felt a bit bad about unfollowing so many people, but really, at the end of the day, it was his blog, and he could do as he liked. He let his mouse hover over the "follow" button.

He sighed. "I'm over thinking this. Morgana's right, I really do obsess over things." He clicked "follow" before he could change his mind, and then went back to his dashboard to scroll through the posts that had come up since he was last on.

* * *

When Merlin came back to his computer later, a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, he nearly choked on the hot liquid when he saw he had a new follower. A new follower who just happened to be **onceandfutureking.** He swallowed and clicked to start a new post. He closed the tab, then opened it again.

"Crap, what do I do?" he muttered.

He finally decided that friendly but generic would be best. Spazzing out and being like, "Ohmygod, I've followed your blog since forever, I love your posts, and is your hair really as shiny as it looks?" would probably just make the guy unfollow him. He went with:

_Hi onceandfutureking! Thanks for following my blog! :)_

He nodded to himself. It probably didn't much matter. **Onceandfutureking** probably followed a bunch of blogs and had a bunch of other, more interesting posts coming up on his dash anyway.

He kept scrolling, reblogging a silly behind-the-scenes photo.

Twenty minutes later, he's back at the top of his dashboard and lo' and behold, he sees this:

 **onceandfutureking** reblogged you:

_My pleasure, you post some great stuff._

For a moment, he considers screencapping the message, before he snaps himself out of it. Sure, **onceandfutureking** was smart, handsome, funny, and had an enormous number of followers on tumblr, but he was really just another average guy. There was absolutely no reason to start hyperventilating over the fact that he had just _responded to Merlin's post._

Merlin closed the tab and grabbed his phone to send a text to Guin.

M: _Help!_

G: _What?_

M: _U kno onceandfutureking on tumblr?_

G: _Yes?_

M: _He followed me!_

M: _And he reblgged my 'thnks for follwing' post_

G: _So?_

M: _So what do I do?_

G: _What do u do when other ppl tlk to u?_

M: _..._

G: _Exactly_

G: _Turn off ur comp and study for our quiz_

M: _Fine :(_

That was not really what he'd been going for when he'd turned to Guin for help, but her advice did help calm him down. He was always thinking too much about what he should do or say, and worrying people would think he was a weirdo. Well, he was a weirdo, he could admit that, but he was the good kind of weirdo and he was afraid people would think he was the bad kind of weirdo.

Whatever. He grabbed his text book and flopped down on the bed, pointedly ignoring his computer. He really did need to study for the quiz tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Arthur saw a Supernatural post that **merlinsbeard** had reblogged. It was a gif of one of the gory opening scenes for an episode, where someone was brutally murdered by some monsters and then the rest of the episode would be about the Winchester brothers finding and killing it. **Merlinsbeard** commented:

_They always use such similar opening scenes: An unsuspecting victim comes across a supernatural creature, the camera pans away as they are horribly murdered, and all we see is the blood splatter. I bet if you took every opening scene blood splatter and compared them all, you would have a pretty accurate portrayal of the series' progression._

Arthur chuckled. It was probably true. He clicked "reblog."

_At the very least, you'll have a bunch of good examples of how not to film a realistic crime scene. I feel like in the last season, the blood splatter wasn't even meant to be realistic._

Minutes later, **merlinsbeard** reblogged him again:

_Maybe the crew was making a game of it. They probably made bets at the beginning of each season. "Let's see how creative they'll let us get with the blood this year, guys."_

Arthur reblogged and added:

_"I bet you guys we can make arterial spray splatter a wall ten meters away and the audience will never notice."_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added **:**

_Maybe the audience doesn't notice, but fandom does. Fandom notices everything._

Arthur reblogged and added:

_That's pretty creepy._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added **:**

_Only because it's true._

* * *

Merlin grinned at his computer screen. After his initial shock and celebrity worship had worn off, he realized that **onceandfutureking** really was just an average person. Merlin found himself engaging in conversation with him as easily as he did with **bigbadwitch** or **limegreenknight.** Both of whom, he discovered, knew **onceandfutureking,** as his sister and friend respectively, so between all of them, some really interesting conversations occasionally occurred.

The other thing he realized was that his crush on **onceandfutureking** did not fade away once he actually started talking to him, but intensified, if that was possible. He could only hope that he didn't do something stupid, like reblog one of those "Ask me about myself" posts. Because inevitably someone (probably **bigbadwitch,** because somehow she _knew things,_ dammit) would ask him who he had a crush on and then Merlin would inadvertently spill the beans, because he couldn't lie even if his life depended on it, not even on the internet.

He went to **onceandfutureking's** youtube channel, playing an older video of his, where he rants about adults being interested in children's shows and how, instead of making fun of people for liking children's shows, the children's shows should be praised for being able to appeal to an older audience. What would that teach children, if adults didn't want to watch what they were watching?

Merlin watched as he used his hands to gesticulate his points, his gaze moving to look at different things as he thought about what he was saying, but always coming back to look at the camera.

"I mean, if my sister came in one day, wearing a My Little Pony shirt, would I judge her?" You could see he was holding back a smile at the thought. "Okay, actually I might just a little bit, but come on, she's the big bad witch!"

"Are you gossiping about me on the internet?" came a voice from the background.

"Oh sh—" The last thing you see is a hand grabbing the camera and blocking out the blonde's panicking face before the video ends.

It was one of Merlin's favorite videos that he'd done, if only because of that unexpected, unscripted moment at the end.

He sighed. The internet made him feel like a stalker. It wasn't his fault attractive people made videos of themselves for the world to watch repeatedly on public websites.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Arthur found himself reblogging more and more of **merlinsbeard** 's posts. It wasn't intentional or anything, really. He just happened to post a lot of interesting stuff. A few of which led to actual conversations, which was rare for him. Sure, he liked to reblog something of Morgana's and go out of his way to disagree with her, and he could usually count on Gwaine to post something really funny or bizarre that would require little more than ROFL. Or sometimes, usually when he'd had a bit to drink, Lancelot got him thinking about political or philosophical stuff (if he didn't know Lance IRL and judged him purely by his blog, he might call the man a hipster).

But with **merlinsbeard,** it was just easy banter and playful discussions of characters or movies. And maybe a little flirting on his part. Just a little bit.

Arthur was lounging on his bed, back home for the weekend instead of in his dorm room. He had his computer in his lap and was working on an image in Photoshop when there was a knock at his bedroom door. Before he even gave permission for her to do so, his sister Morgana was strolling in and settling down beside him like it was her own room.

"How good to see you Morgana, please come in, don't stand at the door all day," he muttered sarcastically.

"I finally get a chance to talk to you, and this is how you act? How cold."

"You talk to me all the time," he complained.

"Yeah, on the internet," she laughed. "Never face to face."

"Perhaps I prefer less confrontational forms of communication."

"Is that why you're still single?"

He pointed at her. "You see, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Can't you just pretend to stay out of my business? Maybe I don't want to date anyone right now."

"What about **merlinsbeard?"** she asked with a sly grin.

"Oh no you don't," he said. "If you don't stop that train of thought right there, I swear I will block you on tumblr."

She rolled her eyes. "Like you actually would. Come on, spill. I've never seen you so conversational before."

He scoffed.

"No, really. It's a good thing. I haven't seen you make any new friends in years."

"Perhaps I'm just very loyal to my old friends," he muttered obstinately. "And it's not like it's face to face. He doesn't even post about his private life."

"And it bugs you, doesn't it?" she said, smirking

" _Yes_ ," he said emphatically. "Because I've put tons of information about myself out there, and what do I get in return?"

"A loyal army of tumblr followers?" she drawled sarcastically.

He shot her a withering glance.

She patted him on the head like a puppy. "Don't worry, Arthur. These things work out."

* * *

A post on the theories behind how Sherlock Holmes survived the series 2 finale made its way onto **onceandfutureking** 's blog.

_Okay friends, what are our theories? I think holding the ball under his arm to hide his pulse is one of the more popular ones. Any takers?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Shall I mention the suspiciously positioned truck?_

**Limegreenknight** reblogged and added:

_Sorry to break it to you two, but he really did die. The Sherlock we saw at the end of S2 was Sherlock from the past brought to the future by the Doctor._

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_So will S3 be about Sherlock solving his own death?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Plot twist! The Sherlock that the Doctor brought to the future was from the time before Sherlock knew John!_

**Limegreenknight** reblogged and added:

_And John will be convinced that Sherlock is suffering from some sort of amnesia, but he'll be so happy that Sherlock survived that he won't question it._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Sherlock falls in love with John, but the Doctor won't let him stay in the future, because that would create a paradox. So he returns to his time, and immediately goes searching for John to share his flat with him._

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_You two just turned one of my favorite shows into a cheesy scifi soap opera._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Isn't it brilliant?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_Just a bit, yeah._

* * *

It was inevitable that Will would take it upon himself to warn Merlin away from giving away too much information about himself. The message that showed up in his ask box read:

_I see you've been getting pretty friendly with a certain onceandfutureking. Don't be swayed by his handsome profile pic. In the end, he's just another nerd on the internet. Don't give him too much._

Merlin sighed and responded privately:

_Thanks mom. I can assure you that I've already heard the talk about the dangers of the internet plenty of times._

Will sent him another ask:

_I wasn't just talking about your location or whatever. I know you. You'll get attached, and you'll start looking for something more, and then when things don't go like you hoped, you'll be upset. Remember what happened with Gilli?_

Of course he remembered, how could he forget? It was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life when he confessed his feelings to the boy he liked, only to discover that, not only was Gilli not interested, he was totally straight.

_And I learned from that. Contrary to what you think, I'm not some helpless idiot. Just back off, Will. I know he's not interested in me as more than just someone to talk to on the internet. Can't I make friends?_

**Will-is-me** asked:

_Fine. Just be careful._

Merlin didn't bother to reply.

* * *

Arthur frowned at his computer. **Merlinsbeard** hadn't been reblogging as many of his posts as usual. Normally by the end of the day, the other blogger would have reblogged at least a few things and added a comment or two. But the only thing that had come up on Arthur's dash from him was one post, and it was lacking in any witty or fanboyish commentary. He'd reblogged some other things, but none of them were Arthur's.

That was… a little odd.

Of course, there was no reason for him to only reblog Arthur's posts. It would be a bit ridiculous for Arthur to expect **merlinsbeard** to always want to talk to him. Still, Arthur felt a little bereft without anything new to discuss or joke about.

He went to **merlinsbeard** 's ask box and wondered if he was acting like a brat, and then debated over what he should say, before grinning and typing a quick message:

_Hey. It's been one month since I started following you! Happy anniversary!_

A few minutes later, he got a private reply:

_Do you seriously keep track of how long you've been following people?_

He went back to **merlinsbeard** 's ask:

_Only the people I like._

Okay, so maybe he was acting like a schoolboy with a crush. But he decided he didn't care, especially when **merlinsbeard** responded with:

_:) Are you saying you like me?_

Arthur grinned. He wondered how he should respond. Flirting on the internet was different from flirting in real life, when you could ask someone out on a date or hold their hand. He definitely liked **merlinsbeard,** but if you were too forward on the internet, people tended to think you were a creepy internet stalker. He decided to go with:

_What's not to like? ;)_

* * *

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged 4 gifs of Rose, Martha, Donna, and Amy from Doctor Who and added the comment:

_Rose was still the best companion, imho._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Come on, Rose was awesome, but Donna Noble was the best._

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_Donna was fantastic, but she didn't love the Doctor like Rose did. Donna wanted to see the universe and be someone great because she didn't want to go back to being a nobody, but Rose wanted to stay with the Doctor because she didn't want to leave him alone._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_But Rose eventually got a happy ending, she got a Doctor that she could have a life with. Donna didn't really get what she wanted, she didn't get to see the universe. She didn't even remember the parts of the universe that she did see! She went back to being totally average after having done something great. Isn't that heartbreaking?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_Maybe I don't like getting my heart broken._

**Bigbadwitch** reblogged and added:

_Stop flirting. You two are both wrong. It's obvious Rory is the best._

* * *

**Onceandfutureking** posted:

_I'm having a bad day. Can someone post a cat gif or something to make me feel better?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_*gif of cat hugging a stuffed toy* Hey, what's got you down?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged and added:

_It's nothing. Some days my father just makes me feel like I'm not good enough or something._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_That's crazy talk. I may have never met you in real life, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you are smart and funny and definitely good enough. You're one of the most amazing people I know. I mean really, if there's anyone who's not good enough, it should be me. I still don't know why you talk to me; I'm so far beneath your level of awesomeness._

**Onceandfutureking** rebloggedand added:

_Now who's talking crazy talk?_

* * *

It was a lazy weekend when Arthur checked his blog and came across an interesting conversation between **merlinsbeard** and **will-is-me.** He had come to realize that Will (probably his name, but on the internet you could never be sure) was one of the few people who knew **merlinsbeard** in real life. He probably should have ignored their conversation, since he wasn't involved and he wasn't even following Will. But, well, his crush had turned into something resembling obsession.

He tracked the convo back to its beginning and read it chronologically.

 **Will-is-me** reblogged a post by **merlinsbeard** and added:

_Come on, Merlin. You can't give me the silent treatment forever. Is this because I insulted your love life?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_It's more that you insulted my social life in general._

**Will-is-me** reblogged and added:

_Finally, he speaks. And you know I didn't mean anything by it. Half the people on the internet have a shit social life. That's why they're on the internet._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Thanks for that._

**Will-is-me** reblogged and added:

_You know what I mean. Stop bringing yourself down like that. You need to get a boyfriend. A real one. It can't be that hard, you're a good looking guy. If I wasn't straight, I might even call you cute._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Yes, that's why I've been single my entire life. My gangly, bookish charm is just so intimidating._

Arthur tapped his finger over the mouse. This was probably the most information about **merlinsbeard's** appearance and personal life that had ever come up. And the guy was obviously more than a little insecure. Arthur wanted to comment with something like, "No, stop putting yourself down, you're gorgeous." Except he didn't know, did he? He'd never seen him; he'd fallen for a personality, a quick wit, an intelligent mind, and an adorable imagination.

While he'd been thinking, another exchange had occurred.

 **Will-is-me** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and added:

_More like you've got your nose in a book all the time. How are you gonna meet someone when you never put yourself out there?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged and added:

_Maybe I don't put myself out there because I know I'll just be disappointed. Honestly, what sort of guy would want to put up with me?_

Before he could second-guess himself, Arthur reblogged the post and added a gif of Katniss from the Hunger Games screaming "I volunteer as tribute!"

* * *

Merlin blushed when he saw that **onceandfutureking** had reblogged the conversation he'd been having with Will. He should have realized that other people would see it, but he had been so irritated with Will that he hadn't thought to move their discussion to somewhere more private. Now everyone would realize what an insecure twat he was.

He pulled his legs up and started spinning in his computer chair until he got dizzy. Should he respond? Or just let the comment go? There was no denying that he was talking to **onceandfutureking** pretty much every day, and that some of their conversations were undeniably flirty.

But on the other hand, internet flirting was something else entirely. It was pretty common for people to jokingly profess their love for friends on the internet, especially when they were never going to actually meet.

Except Merlin genuinely _liked_ **onceandfutureking,** and he got the impression that he liked Merlin back. Oh, but he didn't even know the guy's actual name! They were never going to meet in real life!

He reblogged the post and finally started typing:

_You're only saying that because you've never actually met me in person._

He bit his lip and waited for a response to come, refreshing his dashboard multiple times. Will didn't even respond; he must have seen **onceandfutureking's** comment. He tried to distract himself with youtube clips, but it didn't work very well because his need to check for a reply made him pause the video every 20 seconds.

At long last, **onceandfutureking** responded:

_Maybe I've never met you in person, or seen your face, but I know you. I've talked to you. And you're lovely, ridiculously so. And if I could, I would tell you that to your face, because it wouldn't be any less true then._

Merlin bit his lip, his cheeks turning pink, because honestly? How the hell could he reply to that? But apparently, he wouldn't get the chance, because Will reblogged **onceandfutureking** first:

_Yeah, what pratface said._

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **will-is-me** and said:

_Excuse me? Do I know you?_

He watched as two of his best friends (on and off the internet) started up a petty argument that ended up all over his dashboard. He grinned to himself, feeling much better about himself than he had in a long while.

* * *

Arthur set up his camera to make another video for the internet. He didn't like youtube vlogging as much as tumblr, so most of his videos were for tumblr.

He checked his appearance in the mirror again. It wouldn't do for him to make a whole video, only to go over the footage for editing and discovering that his hair was sticking up in the back.

(He also kind of wanted to look good for **merlinsbeard.)**

Hair tidy, shirt straightened, he turned the camera on.

"Hello friends. Uh, just here to say hi to all my new followers on tumblr. Wow, 34,000 of you now. I don't know who you are, or why you're following me, but thanks. It's much appreciated. Feel free to message me, don't be shy. I swear I don't bite."

He always felt self-conscious doing this, not because people would be watching, but because currently no one was actually watching. It was weird talking to a camera and trying to be natural about it. What if Morgana walked in again?

"Now, I'm going to address a few things that have come up recently in messages and whatnot. First off: Yes, I am gay. It's not a gimmick or whatever. Stop questioning my sexuality. Second: I am single, but hopefully not for much longer." He winked. "You know who you are. Third, can we please stop with all the hate for _Elementary_? Yes, the fact that it came out so soon after BBC's _Sherlock_ is a questionable decision, but does not really reflect on the content of the show itself. Stop whining. If you have a problem with the fact that I post things for both shows, unfollow me. I don't care."

He took a deep breath and ended with, "Finally, for all the people requesting that I do a Topless Tuesday, here is my answer." He smiled a cheerful, blinding smile. "No."

* * *

Merlin let his backpack drop as he sank down into his seat beside Guin with a sigh.

"Busy weekend?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

He snorted. "Hardly. Not with our midterms coming up. And you know me, when I'm not studying, I'm glued to my computer."

"Yes, I've noticed that your activity on tumblr has… increased recently."

He groaned. "Not you too. Will's already giving me a lecture about strangers on the internet, and despite what everyone seems to think, I can take care of myself."

She smiled. "I wasn't going to say anything of the sort. I mean," she corrected herself. "Not that you shouldn't be careful, because there are weirdos out there, definitely. But I don't think you're in any danger. Is all I'm saying. Um."

Merlin grinned, used to her slightly nervous way of always trying to say the right thing. "It's fine Guin."

"I'd only meant that you've been talking to **onceandfutureking** rather a lot. You two seem to be becoming good friends."

He felt his cheeks redden slightly, though he willed them not to, glancing away to distract himself.

"More than friends?" she prodded, eyes wide and curious.

"No, of course not, Guin. We don't even know each other's real names, there's no way we could ever be more. It's just. He likes to tease me and sometimes it seems like he's flirting with me and, you know, he's kind of gorgeous. But unless we have cyber sex or something—which, honestly, even the idea of that just weirds me out—he'll only ever be a friend. A good friend, who I like talking to a lot."

"What if you met up with him in person some day?"

"That's…" He shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Why not? I know for a fact that he genuinely isn't a creepy stalker. He's very nice, if a little arrogant at times."

"Wait, you—" Then Merlin realized several things at once. Guin knew **bigbadwitch** and **limegreenknight** irl **,** both of whom knew **onceandfutureking** irl **.** Which meant… "You know him?!"

Guin bit her lip and nodded.

"But you don't even follow each other!"

"That's… well. It's kind of awkward. You see, we kind of used to date. Before he knew he was gay," she rushed on to say as she saw his face. "So I think he kind of feels guilty, like he thinks I think I turned him gay or something. But I don't! We just don't talk to each other…" she trailed off.

"You. Used to date. **Onceandfutureking**?!" He was gaping, rather like a fish, but he couldn't help feeling like his world had turned completely upside down. His internet crush had always seemed like some distant, unreachable person, existing in some vague and unreal way. Now he discovered that, not only did Guin know him, she used to _date_ him.

"I'm so sorry, I should have told you a long time ago, shouldn't I?"

"No, no. It's fine. I'm just. Surprised, is all."

She nodded. "But would you consider meeting him now? Face to face? I may not follow him, but I've seen how he interacts with you, and I think he'd like to meet you."

"I…" He swallowed. "Give me time to think about it."

* * *

A few days later, Merlin blinked as he opened tumblr in a new tab and saw that he had a message. He grinned to himself, clicked on the little message icon to see what it was and his face fell.

_Omfg go die u faggot_

His first thought was, "Why is it that anons never seem to be able to write properly?" The second was, "Oh my god, I got an anon hate message."

It wasn't a rare occurrence on tumblr and most internet sites, he knew that. But it was the first time he'd ever been the recipient of such hate and somehow… he didn't feel much. Maybe it was the fact that it was just one stupid message and they didn't even bring up any valid reasons for why he should go die, aside from the fact that he was gay. But the majority of tumblr was pro-homo. This message could be for anyone.

He stuck his tongue out a little and typed:

_Wow, that's original. Did you come up with that yourself?_

Then he posted it. The chances of the the anon seeing it or actually being one of his followers was slim, but he posted it anyway.

What he didn't expect was to receive another message almost immediately from **onceandfutureking** :

_Ignore that homophobic loser, all anons are just cowards with no life of their own and too much time on their hands. If anything, it's merely a sign that you are on your way to tumblr fame. They're just jelly._

Merlin smiled. It warmed his heart to know that he'd gotten so defensive on Merlin's behalf. He posted the comment with the response:

_The life of a tumblr celebrity is hard, isn't it? :P_

Of course, Merlin wasn't an internet celebrity by any means; he still had only thirty-one followers, even after **onceandfutureking** had started following him and reblogging his posts.

Over the next hour, several other friends sent him messages to send support and hurl insults at the person who'd picked him to send anonymous hate to. He was grateful for the supportive group of friends he'd made, even if they'd never met (and probably never would meet) in real life. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't care how many strangers might like his posts as long as his friends still liked them.

He took a break from tumblr to watch another episode of Teen Wolf. (He wasn't going to admit it, but the show was starting to grow on him.)

When he checked back in to tumblr later, his mouth dropped open. "Oh, shit."

The anon who'd sent Merlin a message earlier was now bothering **onceandfutureking.** He had another stupid message waiting for him too, but he hadn't been on to answer it until now. But apparently, **onceandfutureking** had been.

 **Anonymous** asked:

_u calling me a coward is funny cuz ur the loser on the intrnet who thinks hes so cool. But really u probly have no friends in rl huh_

**onceandfutureking** replied:

_Sorry to disappoint, but I am fabulous and popular both on the internet and off it. As an added bonus, I know how to spell and use proper punctuation._

Merlin deleted the message in his inbox without even really looking at it and then went to **onceandfutureking** 's page to send him a message:

_Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't think the anon would even come back to my page, let alone bother anyone else._

The reply was almost immediate, and this time private:

_Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I can handle him. ;)_

Immediately, Merlin blushed a stunning shade of crimson and was immensely glad to be in the privacy of his own bedroom. He stared at his screen for a few minutes. Sure, he was flirty sometimes, but **onceandfutureking** probably just said it to annoy the homophobic anon or something. Probably.

* * *

When Arthur saw that that bastard anon had sent **merlinsbeard** that message, Arthur had clenched his fists on reflex. He felt like punching his computer screen. He had seen posts like this before—hell, he'd received them, himself. It was a stupid message, obviously, but never before had he felt the urge to protect someone like he wanted to protect **merlinsbeard.** He may not know what his name was, or what he looked like, but he knew that he was sweet, funny, and intelligent, but he wasn't very confident and thought too little of himself. And he was fast becoming one of Arthur's best friends, despite the fact that they only spoke on the internet.

So Arthur immediately sent him a message, wishing he could say it in person. He didn't know how **merlinsbeard** actually reacted to the message, but wished he was able to meet him, to be able to wrap his arms around him and make sure he knew it wasn't true. Arthur's own feelings and the lack of ability to do anything about them made him frustrated.

Then he received a message in his ask box.

He grinned. Suddenly, an outlet for his frustration had appeared.

The anon was stupid and didn't even bother to type properly. Arthur didn't even have to try to make a fool out of him. Every insult left in Arthur's ask was more idiotic than the last. He wondered if perhaps whoever the anon was had had a little too much to drink.

 **Merlinsbeard** sent him a message to apologize about the anon, but Arthur honestly didn't mind in the least if it meant he wasn't bothering his friend anymore. He sent back a cheeky reply and then sat back to see what ridiculous insult the anon would come up with next.

* * *

It was late Sunday evening. Merlin yawned as he sat down to check his emails. He hadn't had a chance to get to his computer all day. After replying to a professor's email about an assignment, he went on tumblr.

Earlier in the day, **onceandfutureking** reblogged one of the typical "no one on the internet knows you're a cat" posts.

Merlin reblogged it and added an image of a dog at a computer.

_No one is who they say they are on the internet._

When Arthur reblogged it again, he'd typed:

_Hey, at least people know what I look like. For all I know, you could be a cat, pretending to be a dog. :P_

Merlin stared at the text. He had always been paranoid about giving too much of himself away on the internet, and lately Will had only been encouraging that mentality. But he knew it was harder to get to know people (read: **onceandfutureking** ) better if he didn't share anything about himself.

He still didn't like the idea of making his identity known, though. Despite what Guin said, Merlin still wasn't sure if he wanted to actually meet **onceandfutureking**. It was no longer about knowing whether or not he was an internet stalker, but more about the fact that he wasn't sure if he would like Merlin. He said he liked Merlin for his personality, and that was well and good, but what if they met up and… they just didn't click as well face to face? What if they had nothing in common aside from fandom? He bit his lip and made a decision, opening up Paint.

* * *

Later that night (or very early the next morning, however you want to look at it), Arthur scrolled down his dashboard and saw a post by **merlinsbeard**. It was a horribly drawn stick figure done in Paint, with what looked like black hair and blue eyes. The description read:

_Some of you may be wondering what I look like, but as I don't want too much of my personal life out on the internet for just anyone to see, I have attempted a self-portrait. It's fairly accurate, if I do say so myself._

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle. It wasn't what he wanted; he desperately wanted to know what **merlinsbeard** looked like, to be able to put a face to the username. But he knew he couldn't push for personal details without looking like a skeevy internet stalker himself (even though he kind of was at this point.) He'd be lying if he said he hadn't gone through every single one of **merlinsbeard** 's posts—all 8,000 of them—looking for information about himself that he might have let slip.

All in all, he got that he was a college student, tall and skinny, more typical geek and not athletic like Arthur who enjoyed playing sports in his spare time, and from the Paint doodle, he apparently had black hair and blue eyes.

When he clicks on his dashboard again, Arthur notices **merlinsbeard** reblogged something from Guin. She'd commented:

_Are you still up Merlin? Please tell me you've finished that essay for Kilgarragh. He'll smoke you if you ask for more time._

**Merlinsbeard** had replied:

_Yeah, yeah. It's done, I swear. I double-checked it and everything._

Arthur realized two things simultaneously: Guin was the second person to refer to **merlinsbeard** as Merlin. He had thought Will was using it as a nickname so he didn't have to type out the full "merlinsbeard," but Will also knew him irl—could that be his real name? The second thought was that Guin was talking as if they had the same professor, like they went to the same school. He knew that Guin had gone away to a small university in Ealdor—did she know Merlin?

He was loathe to call up Guin and ask—that would be even more awkward than following her on tumblr. But…

He opened up a new tab and went to facebook. He rarely went on unless he had notifications or had been invited to an event. But now it might actually come in handy. Despite not following her on tumblr, he had never unfriended her on facebook; Did anyone ever unfriend anyone?

He went to Guin's photos and started going through them, checking the names of everyone tagged in the photos.

"Crap, I really have become a stalker," he muttered to himself. But as he glanced at the clock, he figured he could blame it on temporary late night insanity.

Arthur was skimming through pictures of Guin's family or of things like a pretty sunset that she had decided to share. After about two dozen photos, Arthur knew he had found who he was looking for.

"Merlin Emrys," he read aloud. "Holy shit."

The photo wasn't the best—a little blurry, and taken with Guin's cameraphone, by the look of it. But you could clearly see that the guy in the photo next to Guin was bloody adorable. He was thin, taller than Guin, with curling dark hair over a pair of slightly-too-large ears. He had bright blue eyes framed in dark lashes, a wide smile, and the most incredible cheekbones Arthur had ever seen.

Arthur leaned back and pressed the heels of both hands to his eyes. "I am so screwed."

* * *

Guin yawned as she reached out, feeling around for her phone, which had started vibrating. She was tempted to just ignore it and go back to sleep, but she was a nice person. What if it was something important? What if someone needed her for something? If she didn't answer, she would just feel guilty and be unable to go back to sleep anyway.

She blinked blearily and looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Arthur?" she asked, confused and still sleepy. He hadn't called her in years.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"It's fine, what's going on? I haven't heard from you in a while," she said, muffling a second yawn.

She could hear the wince in his reply. "Um. Sorry about that. Distance makes it easier to avoid awkward situations."

"Is this not an awkward situation?"

"Um. Actually, this is a very awkward situation. I just have to ask. I know you follow merlinsbeard on tumblr, but do you know him? I mean actually _know_ him?"

She sat up in bed. "What?"

"I sort of, um. Well, I saw something on tumblr…" he started talking really fast, "and it looked like you might actually go to school with him or something so I looked at your pictures on facebook and I saw a guy named Merlin Emrys and I was wondering if maybethatwasmerlinsbeard?"

She barely understood the last bit, he was talking so fast, but what she got from the conversation was, "Are you stalking him?"

"No!" he shouted indignantly. "Not on purpose, anyway. It kind of just happened."

She sighed. "Well, you already know now. Yes, that's him. What are you planning to do, now that you know this?"

"Does he know that I know you?"

"It's kind of just a recent thing, actually. I told him last week that we used to date, until… you know."

"And what did he say?"

"Mostly he was surprised. I suggested introducing you two, but he said he'd think about it. He's shy."

"Yes, I got that." There was a pause on the line, and Guin could tell that Arthur was thinking, not waiting for a response. "If you could arrange a way for us to meet… I really like him, Guin."

Her heart melted just a little. "I'll see what I can do. But I won't force him to do anything he doesn't want to."

"That's all I ask."

"Alright. Good bye, Arthur."

"Thanks, Guin."

* * *

Merlin had his legs pulled up on his computer chair and was resting his chin on his knee. Guin had sent him a message on facebook with a link to a profile. The name was Arthur Pendragon, but the profile pic was undoubtedly **onceandfutureking.** He didn't know what she expected him to do with this information. So now he knew his name and had a way to stalk him (more than he did already, a voice in his head provided). But it wasn't like he could just add him—he wouldn't know who he was.

He could tell him on tumblr first? He chewed his lower lip. If he offered up his facebook instead of popping up out of nowhere and adding him, maybe he would look like less of a creeper? But that wasn't really the issue anymore. It was more about whether or not they would get along outside of tumblr. He didn't want to lose his friendship if they ended up not getting along in real life. But if they did get along…

"Come on, Merlin," he told himself. And great, he was talking to himself again. "It's not like this means you have to meet up or anything."

He went to **onceandfutureking's** ask box and left a quick message with a link to his facebook profile:

_Um. I swear I'm not a creeper, but Guin says she knows you? And I was wondering if you wanted to be fb friends? But if you don't that's totally fine._

He sent the message before he started rambling about how he wasn't an internet stalker. Because if he let himself keep typing, he totally would. He rambled a bit when he was nervous, and it was a trait that didn't only apply to verbal speech. Once, when he was trying to apologize and explain something to Will, he even forgot about punctuation and just ended up with a huge wall of text.

His foot started tapping almost of its own accord, which caused his leg to jiggle, which was uncomfortable, considering his chin was on his knee. Merlin unfolded himself and got up to pace, only to sit back down again. If he'd thought sending the message was hard, waiting for a reply was even worse.

"Okay. I'm going to go crazy if I stay here, so instead I will go the library and study like the good student I am not." He nodded decisively and grabbed his bag, shoving a few text books in half-heartedly before marching out his door.

It's a pity he forgot that his phone got email alerts.

* * *

It was some hours later that a certain Arthur Pendragon found time to check his favorite social networking site and saw that he had a message. When he read it, he sat up in his chair so fast that he nearly choked on the granola bar he'd just taken a bite out of.

 **Merlinsbeard** had just sent him a link to his facebook profile. _Merlin_ had actually asked Arthur whether or not he _wanted_ to be facebook friends. He opened Merlin's profile in a new tab and pressed the "Add friend" button, before going back to tumblr and replying privately:

_Do you even need to ask? It's about time, Merlin._

A few minutes later, he got another message in his ask box:

_Don't be a prat, or I'll unfriend you._

He switched back to facebook and saw that Merlin had accepted his friend request. He went to Merlin's profile to do a bit of proper facebook stalking. He pondered starting up a chat on facebook—because he had to admit, for all that he was addicted to tumblr, it had a pretty crap messaging system. But he decided against it. Tumblr was safer.

He replied to Merlin's message:

_As if you would. Besides, it's too late. I've already seen your ears._

Not even a minute later, he got another message:

_Oi! Leave my ears alone!_

He grinned as he typed:

_I don't want to, they're adorable._

Merlin responded:

_Now you're just teasing me._

Arthur replied:

_I type no word of lie. You have the cutest ears I've ever seen. I want to nibble on them, they're so cute._

Merlin messaged:

_You'd be the first to say so._

Arthur couldn't help himself when he typed:

_Good, then I have dibs. ;)_

* * *

It shouldn't have been a surprise, but he still wasn't expecting it when Gwaine showed up at his door.

"Alright, Princess. Let me in, and we are going to have a nice long chat about you and your boyfriend," he said as he sauntered past Arthur like he lived there.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. What boyfriend is this?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about whatshisface on tumblr. Merlinsbeard. I think the whole internet knows you're head over heels, the way you've been blatantly flirting with him, left and right."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't. Now, I'll tell you, it was funny to watch you two at first, but now it's just frustrating. Especially when you two are ganging up on me. Poor, innocent Gwaine."

Arthur snorted. "You insulted Stargate. You had it coming."

Gwaine pointed. "Don't try to change the subject. What's going on with you two? It's more than just teasing between internet buddies. You genuinely seem like you want to get into his pants."

"Maybe because I do."

Gwaine flung his arms out in exasperation. "For all you know, he could be a huge, overweight, wart-covered basement geek! I know beauty is only skin deep and all that, but you have to admit: You've always gone for a pretty face."

Arthur just smiled innocently.

Gwaine stared at him. "You bastard. What aren't you telling me?"

"Checked your facebook feed recently, Gwaine?"

"I never check that shit. Do you know how many friends I have?"

Arthur shook his head. "Which is why I know that Merlin is the most adorable guy in the world, and you don't."

"His name is actually Merlin?"

"And I am actually King Arthur. It's destiny." He grinned and leaned back, putting his arms back to pillow his head.

"How did you find him, anyway? Actually, forget that, how did you get him to accept your friend request after you found him?"

"That's a bit of a long story… but the short version is, one day I got a message on tumblr and he'd sent me a link to his profile. I didn't initiate anything."

"What if it's a fake profile?"

Arthur sent him a look.

"What? I'm just trying to cover all the bases here, since you're obviously too besotted to see sense. Besides, this sort of thing never happens in reality."

"Gwaine, you've technically known him longer than me. When did you first start following him on tumblr?"

The scruffy man had to stop to think about that one. "I think Guin was reblogging some of his stuff…"

"And why did Guin start following him?"

"How should I know?"

"Because she knows him from school," Arthur answered his own question.

"Bloody hell, you serious?" Gwaine exclaimed. "It really is a small world, isn't it?" He finally settled down, no longer on the offensive. "So, he's cute, he's got a great personality, but you've never met in person. What's your next move?"

Arthur shrugged. "Nothing for a while. I mean, he's pretty shy. I can tell it probably took a lot for him just to send me his facebook address. I don't want to scare him off."

Gwaine rolled his eyes. "Have you seen his blog? He's nuts about you, too. He probably isn't afraid of you, he's afraid _you_ won't like _him._ Big difference."

"And so? I still don't think I should push him."

"Guin's birthday is coming up, isn't it?"

Arthur blinked. "That… is an idea."

* * *

Merlin was curled up on Guin's bed, sinking into a fluffy nest of pillows. Guin had the best pillows.

"You're ridiculous," Guin said, but her voice was fond.

Merlin just disappeared further into the pile of squishy soft goodness. He heard a snap and looked up in time to see Guin lowering her phone from where it was pointed at Merlin.

"This is going on facebook," she sing-songed.

"Whatever."

"With the caption 'I think he needs a cuddle buddy.' Now, to tag, or not to tag Arthur?"

He moaned. "Don't. Please."

"Come on, Merlin. At this rate, when you finally meet him, he's gonna skip the dating and just go down on bended knee."

"Don't even joke about that," he said. "I think I would keel over right then and there."

"From happiness?"

"From embarrassment," he clarified.

"Alright then, in order to prevent your early demise, I have a proposal."

"What might that be?"

"My birthday is in three weeks," Guin said. "I want to have a little party. You're invited, of course. And though I know not all of them will be able to make the trip, I'm inviting my friends from Camelot. That includes Arthur." She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction.

He blinked up at her from the pillows. "Hm."

"That's it? 'Hm?'"

"I'm processing. Pretend there's a little processing pinwheel on my forehead."

She giggled at the imagery. "Breathe, Merlin. He's just a person."

"I know that. In my head."

She climbed onto the bed to join him in his pillow nest. "It'll be fine. I think you two will get on brilliantly. You already do, anyway."

He hummed. "So who else are you inviting? Anyone I know, or will I be all on my own?"

She grinned. "I know they're small fry compared to _onceandfutureking_ , but Gwaine and Morgana will probably come."

It took him a second to remember that they were **limegreenknight** and **bigbadwitch.** He was friends with Morgana on facebook now, but Gwaine didn't even seem to use his account, despite having thousands of friends.

"Is Morgana as scary in real life as she seems online?"

"Only if you get on her bad side."

"And Gwaine? Should I watch out for him?"

"He might spike the drinks or something, yeah."

He nodded. "I think I can handle them. They're your friends after all."

Guin ruffled his hair. "They're your friends too."

* * *

Facebook had become infinitely more interesting now that he could get an actual glimpse of the real Merlin. In fact, Guin had just posted a new photo from her phone. He clicked on it to enlarge and was treated to the sight of Merlin buried beneath a pile of cushy pillows. You could just see the top of his head and his lovely blue eyes peeking out. To go with it, she'd typed _I think he needs a cuddle buddy._

That was quite probably directed at him. Their friends' teasing had gotten so bad that even Guin—harmless, innocent Guin!—had joined in. But, he supposed he sort of deserved it.

His friends weren't the only ones. A bunch of his followers were apparently shipping him and **merlinsbeard.** Thankfully, the majority of these new crazy shippers had decided their ship name would be kinglin, as opposed to some of the other, weirder, less creative names out there. Like onceandfuturebeard. He wasn't paying too much attention to them because he knew if he delved too deep, he would find something he would regret finding. There were some parts of fandom even he wouldn't go near.

Abruptly, his door opened and his sister sauntered right in.

He quickly shut his laptop and spun in his chair to face her. "Dammit, woman. Don't you even knock anymore?"

"Nope." She moved to make a grab for his laptop. "What is it you're trying to hide? Porn?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course not." He tried to slap her hand away, but she was faster, and managed to pull the lid up, revealing the picture of Merlin that Guin had taken.

She sighed. "He might as well be a porn star, with the way you act."

The thought of Merlin and porn in the same context made his head feel funny, so he tried not to think about it. "Don't you have something better to do? People to terrorize? Evil spells to cast?"

She settled on the edge of his bed. "You're going to Guin's party." She said this like a statement, not a question.

"Yes…?"

"And Merlin is going to Guin's party."

"Well, he hasn't said anything to me, but I've got my fingers crossed."

"I have it on good authority that he is." She pretended to inspect a hangnail. "What are you planning to do?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm planning to go up to him, shake his hand, and say, 'Hello Merlin, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person.'"

Morgana made a face. "I was hoping for something more dramatic."

"Like what? A box of chocolates? A bouquet of… roses…?" Arthur was suddenly struck by an idea. "You know what? That's exactly what I'm going to do!"

She lifted a perfectly sculpted brow. "Roses?"

He grinned. "You'll see."

* * *

It was the afternoon of Guin's birthday. Merlin had arrived early that morning to help her with all the cooking and baking for the party that evening, because, of course, Guin couldn't be like everyone else and go buy a platter of vegetables and dip and a few bags of junk food.

Though Merlin ended up covered in flour and other ingredients, it had the positive effect of keeping him too busy to think about the fact that he would be meeting Arthur tonight. Face to face. His hand moved to run anxiously through his thick, dark hair, but he aborted the movement in time to remember that his hands were still covered in garlic and tahini paste from the hummus he'd just finished preparing.

He exhaled slowly.

From behind him, Guin made a soothing sound. "I can finish up here, Merlin. Why don't you go use the bathroom to wash up a bit? The guests should be arriving soon."

He nodded and went down the hall to her little bathroom. He scrubbed his arms up to his elbows, thankfully that Guin had had the foresight to make him take his buttoned, long-sleeve shirt off, leaving him in just his dark navy t-shirt. He washed his face too, for good measure, then tried to do something about his hair. He'd had it styled to his liking when he left this morning, but now it was back to being its usual unruly self. He tried using his fingers and bit of water to make it behave, but it only seemed to be making things worse, so he gave up.

He stepped back to look himself over. He was… not totally unfortunate looking, he supposed. Tall, a bit gangly, and he had messy hair, but people told him he had pretty eyes, so that was a plus?

He heard a knock at the door and immediately tensed.

"Merlin, can you get the door?"

Thankfully, it was just Elena, one of Guin's other friends from their school. He'd only spoken with her, but she seemed nice enough, if a bit clumsy. He wasn't all that graceful himself, though, so they'd probably get along if they spent more time together.

She'd brought a brownie dish, which Merlin took from her as she came inside. (And a good thing he did, because she tripped moments later.) When he got back to the kitchen, Guin had just finished washing her own hands and was taking her apron off. When she saw the new brownie dish, she winced and glanced toward the table covered in their other dishes.

"Oh dear, let's find a place for that…"

They managed to squeeze it in on the counter, beside the dirty cooking pots and pans.

She sighed. "Looks like we'll have to clean up a bit, after all." As soon as she said that, there was another knock on the door.

Merlin smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'll clean up. Go play hostess."

She pointed a chastising finger. "Don't think you can hide in here. Just clean enough to make space."

He made a shooing motion and stood at the sink to start scrubbing some of the larger dishes. He was moving on to one of the mixing bowls, still covered in flour, as the sound of voices drifted in. He heard someone come into the kitchen behind him.

He turned around, "Guin, do you want me to—"

It wasn't Guin.

 **Onceandfutureking,** Arthur Pendragon, was even more handsome in real life than he was in videos or pictures. He was tall, probably about as tall as Merlin, but with a broader and more athletic frame. His golden blond hair was fashionably tousled, sky-blue eyes wide and looking right at Merlin. Compared to Merlin, he was a god.

"Hi," said Merlin, unable to get his mouth working enough to come up with anything else.

"Hello."

"I'm Merlin. Um. But you probably knew that."

Now the blond was smiling and moving closer. "Yes. And I'm Arthur. But I think you knew that."

"Yes," he replied, his nerves about to take control.

"You have a bit of…" Arthur's hands came up to hover near his face, as if asking for permission. Merlin hardly dared to move as he felt Arthur's thumb sweep across his cheek. He could feel the heat of Arthur's hand, and Merlin shivered from the close proximity.

"A bit of flour," Arthur finished saying, as he pulled away.

"Uh, thanks." Merlin swallowed.

He gestured back to the room behind him. "I'm not the only one who's been wanting to meet you. Guin told me to come save you from dish duty, so here I am."

Merlin looked down at the dish he'd left half-scrubbed in the sink, but grabbed the towel to dry his hands anyway, leaving it for later. When he turned back to Arthur, he offered a shy smile.

"Am I good?" he asked, gesturing to his face in case there was any more flour.

"More than," Arthur smirked.

Merlin blushed and ducked his head, following Arthur back into the main room.

* * *

Arthur had spent longer than he'd care to admit trying to make himself look good before Morgana had gotten exasperated and dragged him down to their car so they could go pick up Gwaine and Lance. They were picking up Gwaine because his car had failed to start for the umpteenth time and Lance because he'd never had a car at all, and despite having never met Guin, he was part of their "group" now and they all thought it was about time for him to meet her.

And Merlin. Arthur's thoughts always came back to Merlin. The drive was a couple of hours long and gave him time for more thinking than he cared for. When they finally pulled up in front of Guin's building, Arthur was about to jump out of his skin.

"Man up, Arthur," Gwaine said from the backseat, messing up Arthur's carefully styled hair.

"Piss off!" he said, smacking the offending hand away and trying to fix the damage.

"You're like a schoolboy on his first date," Morgana said fondly, stepping out of the car in a pair of her newest high heels.

They were already outside the door, Arthur having his minor panic attack, when Lance decided to ask, "You're sure it's okay that I came along?"

"Of course, don't worry. Guin knows you're coming, and she's sure to love you."

The door opened and the curly haired girl herself was ushering them in, offering smiles and hugging each of her friends. Lance bashfully introduced himself and Arthur took a glance around the room. A blond girl was seated on a couch, looking up at them all curiously. He turned and Guin was giving him a knowing look.

"Merlin's doing some washing up for me in the kitchen. Why don't you go rescue him so he can join the party?"

And once again all of his friends were giving him smirks. Gwaine even had the gall to wink at him. He rolled his eyes and headed in the direction he assumed the kitchen was. The apartment wasn't that big.

Merlin was facing away from him, wearing a shirt and jeans that were just shy of skinny, washing dishes in the sink. He must have heard him come in, because he turned around.

"Guin, do you want me to—"

He stopped mid-sentence and he stared, which gave Arthur a moment to take in his features without the filter of a computer screen. And pixels didn't do those cheekbones justice. Arthur was also pretty sure that that particular shade of blue in his eyes had probably never existed before Merlin was born. Though Arthur might be a little biased.

"Hi," Merlin said.

"Hello."

"I'm Merlin. Um. But you probably knew that."

Merlin was obviously nervous and fumbling for words. He was adorable. "Yes. And I'm Arthur. But I think you knew that."

"Yes."

There was a trace of flour dusting his cheek and Arthur felt the urge to reach out and brush it off. And he did, his hand moving up before he even realized what he was doing. "You have a bit of… a bit of flour." Merlin didn't move as he allowed Arthur to touch his face.

"Uh, thanks."

He smiled at him again, and gestured back to where everyone else was gathered. "I'm not the only one who's been wanting to meet you. Guin told me to come save you from dish duty, so here I am."

Merlin hesitated a moment, looking like he might try to finish washing up, but then he dried his hands and turned back to Arthur. He smiled shyly and gestured to where Arthur had brushed the flour off. "Am I good?"

"More than."

When Merlin blushed, Arthur thought it was something he definitely wanted to see again.

They stepped into the main room. Gwaine let out a wolf whistle. "You guys said he was cute, you didn't say he was a model."

Merlin promptly turned bright red and Arthur glared. Merlin's blush wasn't nearly so welcome when it was someone else causing it.

Morgana ignored all of them and stepped forward to tug Merlin into a hug, which seemed to catch him by surprise. "Merlin! It's so good to finally meet you in person. I'd tell you to ignore Gwaine, but you should know by now that he's all bark and no bite."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"It's great to meet you all as well."

"And this is Lance," said Morgana, continuing to ignore Gwaine and his indignant hair flipping. "I'm not sure you know him. He goes by peacepopsicles on tumblr."

"I haven't had the pleasure," said Merlin, extending a hand to shake.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied.

"Am I the only person in the world who doesn't have a tumblr?" Elena asked no one in particular.

"Yup," answered at least three separate people.

Guin clapped her hands. "There's a few more people coming, but now that you all are acquainted, who wants to eat?"

* * *

Merlin had helped make most of the dishes, so he was definitely ready to try a few. Everyone seemed quite familiar with Guin's delicious cooking, so soon everyone had a paper plate weighed down with goodies.

Arthur settled next to Merlin on the couch, content to eat his food and chat in an easy-going manner. Merlin had discovered that, despite being face to face (and despite the fact that Merlin was a lowly peasant sitting next to a real-life Adonis) it was very easy to talk to Arthur.

"I think it really helps being involved in internet communities that discuss the same topics I study in school," Arthur was saying. "I mean, yeah, there are the weeaboos and the trolls, but there are some very intelligent people on the internet who just somehow make what we're studying so much more _interesting_ than the school lectures."

Merlin nodded. "Oh, definitely. I've always been interested in Arthurian legend—because of my name, you know. So I was thrilled to be able to take a course that focused on it. But I'd already learned so much from web discussions that some of our readings feel a little pointless."

"Why are you named Merlin? If you don't mind my asking."

Merlin shrugged. "My mother named me. She'd always been a fan of the stories. I had to put up with a lot of teasing in school, but I like my name." He grinned. "What about you, Arthur Pendragon?"

Arthur grimaced. "It's a bit of a family joke. My grandmother, after marrying a Pendragon, was completely set on naming her kid Uther. Well, when I came around, everyone thought it was a great idea to name me Arthur. Uther Pendragon and his son Arthur. Also Morgana, of course, who is actually my half-sister. She has a cousin named Morgause, by the way, who has a son named Mordred."

Merlin snorted. "Better watch out for him, then."

"No kidding," Arthur grinned. "Don't tell Morgana I said this, because she adores the little twerp, but he's the creepiest kid I have ever met. He stares at me when no one else is looking."

"Plotting your demise?" Merlin giggled.

"But now I have my loyal sorcerer and my faithful knights to fight for me," Arthur said with a wave towards Merlin, Gwaine, and Lancelot, plus Guin's brother Elyan who had arrived a few minutes ago.

"I hope you weren't planning to marry Lady Guinivere, because I think there's a serious possibility of her cheating on you with your loyal knight."

Arthur and Merlin both sent sly glances towards Guin who was giggling at something Lance had said and Lance was staring down at her with a besotted expression.

Arthur slung an arm over Merlin's shoulders. "Not to worry, I am completely uninterested in Guin. In fact, I have my heart set on someone else."

"Oh?" Merlin's heart started beating twice as fast.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) Morgana chose that moment to perch on the arm of the couch next to Merlin and Arthur pulled his arm back from around Merlin's shoulders. Merlin might have been disappointed, but was distracted by the somewhat predatory smile he was receiving from Morgana.

"So, Merlin. I've been designing these fantasy-inspired outfits—"

Arthur groaned, "Not this again." He leaned over to mock whisper into Merlin's ear. "She acts like she's some sort of avant-garde fashion designer, when really it's just cosplay."

Merlin laughed.

"Was I talking to you? No. Anyway, Merlin, I was wondering if you might be interested in modeling for me."

He spluttered. "Me? Model? Have you looked at me? I'm tall, gangly, and look like I've never been exposed to sunlight. Unless the look you're going for is a nerdy vampire, I don't think you want me modeling anything."

"That's an idea," she said, smiling. "But no, seriously. Arthur's right, you're far more attractive than you give yourself credit for. And I bet you'd look great in leather trousers."

Merlin nearly choked on his own spit.

"It's fine, Merlin. You can say no." Arthur leaned in close and whispered, this time too low for Morgana to hear, "She's right about the leather trousers, though." Then he stood up like nothing happened, and said, "I'm going to get another brownie. Want me to grab one for you too?"

* * *

It was getting late and guests were starting to trickle out. Guin was letting Arthur, Morgana, Lance, and Gwaine sleep on the floor at her place so that they didn't have to drive all the way back so late at night.

Merlin had stayed near Arthur almost the entire night, which Arthur took as a good sign. But now he was offering a small smile and shrugging on his jacket. "I'm on my way out, too. It was wonderful to meet all of you," he said, turning to include the rest of them. "In real life, that is."

Gwaine smirked, "I'm going to be adding you on facebook, now."

"Like you ever actually go on facebook," Morgana said with a playful slap to his shoulder.

"And I'll be looking you up on tumblr," Lance promised.

"I'll walk you out," Arthur said. "I have something in the car that I've been wanting to give you."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Morgana. "It's a ring, isn't it?"

Watching Merlin's cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink was offset by the heat Arthur felt in his own face. "Sorry to disappoint, but it's not jewelry of any sort, let alone a ring. Honestly, Morgana." He started pushing Merlin out the door. "Come on, Merlin. Let's leave before this lot starts getting any weird _ideas._ "

Outside, Arthur shivered a little, partly from the chill of the night air and partly from nerves. After meeting Merlin in person, he was completely sure that he'd never wanted to be with anyone as much as he wanted to be with the dark-haired young man, and Merlin seemed to be just as interested in Arthur, if a little more reserved in expressing his feelings. Arthur hoped he wasn't reading his signals all wrong.

He glanced back at the apartment when they reached the car, making sure certain nosy people weren't spying on them. He unlocked the trunk and pulled a little handmade bouquet out of a box he'd pushed towards the back.

Merlin's eyes widened as Arthur held it out to him. "I hope this isn't too fast, but I really like you, and was wondering if you would go out with me. Like, not as friends, but on an actual date?" He wanted to be very clear so that there were no misunderstandings about what this was and what Arthur wanted them to be.

Merlin hesitantly took the bouquet Arthur was offering him, then threw back his head and laughed. "It's a [bouquet of Roses](http://thebohemiancircus.tumblr.com/post/29235196655/you-guys-my-friend-just-gave-me-a-bouquet-of)!" he exclaimed, smiling.

Arthur had spent an hour cutting out pictures of Rose Tyler and then gluing the pictures into a fake bouquet of flowers.

"Is that a yes?" Arthur asked hopefully.

"When?" Merlin was still smiling, but it was softer, shyer.

"Whenever. Tomorrow. The day after. Next weekend. Every day."

Merlin chuckled and stepped closer to Arthur. "Tomorrow?"

Arthur grinned and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to Merlin's in a chaste kiss. Merlin leaned into the kiss, placing his hands against Arthur's chest, and Arthur took that as an invitation to wrap his hands around Merlin's waist. Arthur pulled back to look at Merlin, but one look at his face and he was swooping back in for one, two, three more quick kisses, tilting his head for a better angle.

The moment was ruined when there was a sudden flash of light and the sound of Gwaine exclaiming, "This one's going on facebook!"

They both groaned. Arthur reluctantly stepped back. If he didn't let Merlin go now, he never would.

"Tomorrow, then?" he asked with a smile.

Merlin's answering grin was wide and gorgeous. "Tomorrow."

* * *

One date turned into two, which turned into three, which turned into four, and pretty soon they stopped counting and just spent as much time as they could together, between coursework and their other friends. Usually, Arthur came to Ealdor, since Merlin didn't have a car, or even a license, but occasionally Merlin spent the weekend in Camelot with Arthur, when he was able to get a ride with Guin. Since she had started dating Lance shortly after Merlin started dating Arthur, they both had reason to make the drive to Camelot more often.

Whenever they did manage to get together, there was lots of hand-holding, kissing, and cuddling. Sometimes they went out to see a movie or meet their friends at a pub, but mostly they liked staying in. They both agreed that there was nothing better than curling up together to watch the latest episode of Doctor Who, or even bringing their laptops and liveblogging side by side. But, that often led to arguments, which led to Arthur pinning Merlin down and kissing him until he agreed with Arthur's point of view. (This wasn't the most effective method, because often Arthur just wouldn't stop and then they'd move on to _other_ things and the argument would be forgotten.)

Merlin did end up modeling for Morgana, and the pictures she posted of her outfits on deviantart and tumblr (without naming the model) were actually quite popular. Merlin turned bright red whenever anyone brought it up and Arthur regularly threatened to make the photoset into his desktop background.

When they weren't actually able to be together, they were talking on tumblr or facebook or via text messages. The kinglin shippers online were ecstatic when Arthur made it known that **onceandfutureking** and **merlinsbeard** were dating in real life. Now, instead of annoying homophobic anons, they got people sending anonymous messages asking them about their sex life, to Arthur's endless amusement and Merlin's embarrassment.

There were also a few who wondered when, if ever, they would actually get to see what Merlin looks like. So one day, Arthur set up his video camera in his room. He winked at the camera, seeing himself wink back in the little screen.

"Hey, _merlinsbeard_!" he called. "Come here a sec."

"What?" Merlin put down the book he was reading for a class, and went to Arthur, who wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist and pulled him down into his lap. "What are you doing?"

"Making a new video. Say 'hi!'"

At that moment, Merlin noticed the camera that was currently recording the pair of them. "Oh, no. No, no, no." He struggled to escape Arthur's grip. "I don't want any part of this. I look horrible on camera, anyway."

"What are you talking about? The camera loves you. You and your fabulous cheekbones." He kissed the side of Merlin's face. "Don't make me use the pictures my sister took."

Merlin sighed reluctantly.

Arthur turned back to the camera with a triumphant grin. "Alright, friends. You've been asking, and I can't say that I can't sympathize with wanting to get a glimpse of **merlinsbeard.** He's very camera-shy and a bit selfish, keeping his gorgeous self a secret from the internet."

"Stop it," Merlin elbowed Arthur.

"Yes, so savor it while you can, followers, because I can't guarantee that I'll be able to trick him onto camera a second time."

"You're ridiculous," Merlin said fondly.

"I love you," Arthur replied.

Merlin smiled and kissed him, and Arthur grinned into the kiss.

"I can't believe you waited until you were on camera to tell me that," Merlin said between kisses.

"I wanted to record the moment."

"You won't post this."

"Yes, I will," said Arthur as he continued kissing his boyfriend.

Merlin sighed in equal parts exasperation and fondness. "I love you, too."

Of course, the video was posted later that evening. It accumulated thousands of notes overnight.


	2. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short little bonus chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was originally posted as an extra, but then I put it on AO3 at the end of the main fic, but it really doesn't fit as well that way. Sorry for moving things around.

Arthur was just getting out of a lecture when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took a glance at the caller ID and smiled when he saw it was Merlin. They basically had each other's schedules memorized by now, so Merlin had probably called as soon as he knew Arthur was done with class.

He answered the call, "Hey love. What's up?"

Merlin didn't bother with greetings and got straight to the point. "Did you know they've made a new blog about us? Kinglinforever on tumblr."

"Contrary to popular belief, my brain does not get wifi. What's this blog about?"

"Well, a lot of it's the usual, reblogging our posts, posting our pics. But the main thing is that someone figured out that I modeled those costumes for Morgana, and now they've photoshopped you into some of them."

"Ha!" Arthur laughed. "That's brilliant."

"It's embarrassing! You should see yourself in some of them."

"Hm. You say they're embarrassing, but I bet that hasn't stopped you from browsing through them all."

"I had to see the extent of the damage. You know."

Arthur switched the phone from his right ear to his left. "Of course. So, did you follow them?"

"What?! No!"

"Why not? They'll probably flip. It's amazing how these people forget that we are also on tumblr and know about the things they post about us."

"Exactly. No need to fuel the fire."

"Hm," he murmured. "You're still coming over this weekend, right?"

"Of course. I'll bring some of my mom's cookies."

"And I'll bring the condoms."

"Oi!"

"Nuh uh, you can't pretend to be innocent anymore, I know you're actually a minx."

"You—I—!"

Arthur could just picture Merlin's bright red face and he grinned widely, probably looking like a maniac to anyone who walked past him at this moment. "Shh, calm down. I'm just teasing you."

"Arthur," Merlin whined through the phone.

"I've gotta go. See you Saturday, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Arthur smiled, "Bye," and hung up.

* * *

Of course, mere hours later, Arthur had started following kinglinforever and whoever the mod was immediately posted:

_AAAAHHH THEY KNOW! ABORT! ABORT!_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged the post and added:

_Haha, as if you guys were being subtle. I've been around the internet for a while now, I know how things work. Though for the record, merlinsbeard found this one. He just won't admit to it._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and added:

_Lies, I've seen nothing._

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and added:

_You are fooling no one. I've recorded that phone call, so I have proof._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and added:

_You did not!_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and added:

_I record all our phone calls, didn't you know?_

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and added:

_You're one of those creepy people on the internet that parents warn their children about, aren't you?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and added:

_Children love me. I give them candy._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and added:

_CREEPER!_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and added:

_Only when you're in the room._

**Kinglinforever** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and added:

_NOW THEY'RE FLIRTING OVER MY POST OH MY GODDDDJFKDA;DKFJ;!_

* * *

Merlin was curled up on Arthur's bed while he waited for him to finish writing an email. He somewhat resembled a cat, the way he looked so warm and pliant, so of course, as soon as he was done, Arthur just had to curl up with him and pet him.

"You know we're doomed to a life of internet fame, don't you?" Arthur said softly, as he brushed his fingers through Merlin's hair.

Merlin yawned. "It's not too late. We could delete our tumblrs, deactivate your youtube account, and resign ourselves to an average life where we check our facebooks every so often."

There was a stretch of silence as Arthur felt Merlin waiting for his response.

In unison, they said, "Nah."

Laughing, Merlin rolled over so that he could look up at Arthur. His boyfriend leaned down to kiss him and Merlin reached up to meet him halfway.

What started as a quick kiss on the mouth soon turned into long, slow, and lazy kisses, Arthur licking into Merlin's mouth. The hand he wasn't using to prop himself up was sneaking under Merlin's shirt. Merlin's hands were wound around the back of Arthur's head, running through his hair and pressing long fingers into the back of his neck.

Arthur pulled away and then dove back down to leave a trail of hot kisses along Merlin's jawline and down his neck to suck on a collarbone.

Merlin moaned. "Condom?"

Arthur grinned. "Cookies?"

Merlin slapped him halfheartedly. "Internet creeper."

"If I wasn't, I'd never have met you, would I?"

"I'm not arguing about this, just get the stupid condom."

Arthur burst into laughter and hid his face in the crook of Merlin's shoulder. "I love you so much."

Merlin smiled. "And you are the John to my Sherlock."

"I think it's the other way around."

"The companion to my Doctor," Merlin continued, undeterred.

Arthur kissed him to shut him up. "You've forgotten the most obvious one," Arthur whispered against his lips.

Merlin raised his eyebrows, signaling for him to continue.

"You are obviously the wizard to my king." Arthur kissed Merlin's answering smile.

Then they spent a long and glorious night together and Arthur displayed his prowess in wielding his sword and Merlin made some magic happen. Yes, that is as dirty as you're probably thinking it is.


	3. Christmas Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little something extra that I wrote for Christmas.

**Merlinsbeard** asked **onceandfutureking** :

_What are your plans for Christmas?_

**Onceandfutureking** replied:

_Sorry, love. I was hoping to come visit you, but my father made plans without asking, which is just typical._

**Merlinsbeard** asked:

_:( I understand. Christmas is a time for family and all._

**Onceandfutureking** replied:

_You're my family too._

**Merlinsbeard** asked:

_We'll just celebrate together after Christmas. Nbd._

**Onceandfutureking** replied:

_I'll make it up to you. ;)_

Merlin didn't bother to send another ask. He wasn't too disappointed, since he'd expected that it would be hard for them to get together over the holidays. They still lived a few hours apart and Arthur's family was quite posh, and would probably be having fancy parties or going on fancy trips to log cabins or ski resorts or wherever people with money liked to go over the holidays, Merlin didn't really know. But if his next post was a Grumpy Cat holiday picture, he would admit that maybe he had wanted to be a little selfish and keep Arthur all too himself.

However, if someone asked him about it, he would just say that it had been in his queue and in no way did it have anything to do with the fact that he would be spending his Christmas apart from his boyfriend.

* * *

Arthur had been dragged off to do some Christmas shopping with Morgana, which was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because he could never pick out gifts for people on his own without inevitably settling for giftcards, and it was a curse because the actual experience of shopping with Morgana was a harrowing one.

"Come on, Arthur. Pick up the pace, we've only hit three stores so far."

"Only three stores…"

"Yes, we still haven't picked out anything for Uther, plus I have a few friends I want to find gifts for, and I know you haven't gotten anything for Merlin yet."

He grimaced but nodded. He would not brave further torture for anyone other than Merlin. He already felt bad enough, not being able to see him for Christmas. If he was being honest, he missed him a great deal. Since they both had schoolwork and other obligations, he hadn't been able to actually see his boyfriend for over two weeks now.

"Do you think Father will notice if I'm not at Uncle Agravaine's on Christmas Eve?" he blurted out.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "I think he would definitely notice, especially since he can't stand Agravaine and would never put up with the man if he weren't our uncle."

"If he doesn't want to go, and I don't want to go, then why can't we just not go?"

"Because that wouldn't be polite," answered Morgana matter-of-factly. "Is this about Merlin?"

"I miss him," he admitted. Arthur shifted a bunch of shopping bags from one hand to the other so that he wouldn't lose the circulation in his hand. He looked up at Morgana, who had stopped walking. "I just want to spend a bit of time with him for the holidays. He's just as much, if not more, a part of our family than Uncle Agravaine."

His sister smiled one of her secretive smiles that at once gave him hope and made him slightly afraid. "I'll see if I can't work a little magic. But until then, we're shopping!"

She resumed her fast pace and Arthur groaned before trudging after her, laden down with their purchases.

* * *

Merlin stared blankly at his tumblr. He had refreshed it again, and there seemed to be a few bloggers about, but it was a slow night; there were only two new posts since he last refreshed. Apparently, most people actually had places to be and things to do on Christmas. Including Arthur.

He glanced at his phone again, as if there was a chance a text message had magically appeared while he wasn't looking, and he just hadn't noticed. Nothing. He'd already sent two texts himself, but he didn't want to seem like he was being clingy or needy.

He wasn't. Not really. Was it too much to ask to be able to spend Christmas with his boyfriend?

A new post appeared by **onceandfutureking**. A gif of a red panda pouncing on and snuggling with another red panda. _What I wish I was doing right now with my boyfriend_ , read the caption.

Merlin smiled. He reblogged it immediately, not caring that people would see how fast it was reblogged and realize he was spending his Christmas sitting at his computer. Tumblr was slow tonight anyway.

He heard the door downstairs and assumed his mother would be back after her visit to the neighbors.

Merlin made a new text post:

_Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa brought you all lots of presents and DVD box sets._

He got up and went downstairs so that he could do Christmas properly with the only bit of family he had left. They could watch a Christmas movie together and drink cocoa or something. And the Doctor Who special would be on soon. It wasn't as if he was doing anything worthwhile in his room by himself.

He went down into the kitchen. "Mum?" There was no one there. He wandered out and what he saw took his breath away.

The lights in the room had all gone dim except for the twinkling of their modest Christmas tree, beside which a certain young man was kneeling and placing presents, the soft glow lighting his face as he turned to look up at Merlin.

He smiled and reached up to dangle a piece of mistletoe over his head. "Merry Christmas?"

Merlin launched himself at his boyfriend and kissed him messily on the mouth.

"What are you doing here?" he asked incredulously. "I just saw you post on tumblr!"

"It's called a queue, Merlin. And I somehow got Morgana on my side and she got me out of spending Christmas at Uncle Agravaine's this year, don't ask me how, because I really don't know." He leaned down to kiss Merlin again. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He stopped and realized something. "Where's my mum?"

"Oh, still enjoying a cup of tea next door, I imagine. She agreed to dawdle as long as she could," Arthur said with a wink.

Merlin smiled and started backing towards the kitchen again, his hands grasping Arthur's. "I was about to make myself a cup of hot chocolate. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please."

Arthur followed his boyfriend into the small kitchen and wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his head on Merlin's shoulder as he watched him prepare two steaming mugs of cocoa.

"How long are you staying?" Merlin whispered. There was no need to whisper, but it was such a quiet moment, with only the two of them alone in the house, that it felt as though the smallest thing could shatter it.

"As long as you'll let me," Arthur said right against his ear.

"Forever?"

Arthur laughed, a quick, joyful sound. "Maybe a few days. As long as Hunith doesn't mind."

"Good. She won't." Merlin turned in his arms to kiss him again. The holiday season was wonderful and Merlin loved it, he really did, but the cold weather made him miss the warmth of Arthur's smile and kisses and his everything.

"Would you like to open your presents now or later?"

"You got me presents?" Merlin grinned.

"Well, I mean all I really did was wrap the coal so it would look pretty…"

Merlin shoved him and then dashed towards the stairs. "Wait here. I have something for you too."

Arthur went to sit on the couch, an old but comfy piece of furniture, while he waited. The front door opened and Hunith came in, unwrapping her scarf. She saw Arthur settled on the couch and smiled.

"Merlin's just gone upstairs to get something."

She nodded. "I'll just be in the kitchen for a bit. I'll be out in time for Doctor Who," she said with a wink.

Not even a minute later, he heard the thudding footfalls of Merlin's sock-clad feet as he tumbled back down the stairs. He walked towards Arthur shyly, keeping something tucked behind him, out of sight.

"Did I hear my mum get back?"

"You did. She's in the kitchen."

Merlin disappeared for another moment, presumably to speak with his mother, and then reappeared, still hiding something behind his back.

"I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't have time to wrap it, I'm afraid…" He held it out. "I hope you haven't bought it already. I know you have the Firefly series, but I didn't see this at your place."

"Serenity!" exclaimed Arthur. "A must-have for any Firefly fan. And no, I don't have it, so it's perfect."

Merlin beamed. "So. What did you get me?"

"I already told you. Coal."

Merlin glared and sat down on the floor by the three presents Arthur had left there earlier.

"The big one is for Hunith, so hands off."

Merlin picked up the other two, a suspiciously DVD-shaped wrapped box and another rectangular one.

The first one did, indeed, prove to be DVDs, but the second one…

Merlin gasped. "Oh, this…"

"Gwaine's an ass, but he's a forgetful ass. He never did put it on facebook."

It was a picture of the two of them, standing in the street outside of Gwen's place. It was the photo Gwaine had captured of their first kiss. Arthur had printed it and gotten it framed.

"All things considered, I think it came out pretty well," Arthur said quietly.

Merlin smiled and crawled up to join Arthur on the couch so they could look at it together. "Yeah. It's kind of a shame about that blonde prat being in the way, but…"

Arthur tackled Merlin and started tickling him. "How dare you! You completely ruined the moment!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Merlin shouted. "It's a beautiful picture with a beautiful prat!"

"Damn right it is." Arthur stopped tickling Merlin, but now he was leaning over him on the couch and they were both breathing heavily, and he leaned in to claim his mouth in a romantic Christmas kiss, when…

"Sorry to interrupt boys, but the Doctor Who Christmas special is almost on, and I still plan on watching it even if you're otherwise occupied," Hunith said with an amused smile.

"No, we wouldn't want to miss that," Arthur said belatedly after a moment, looking up from where he was leaning over her son.

Merlin giggled and pushed at him until they were both sitting upright again and snuggling on the couch, settling in to watch the latest of the Doctor's adventures.

* * *

**Merlinsbeard** posted:

_Okay, so I watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special with the boyfriend. And the new companion: TOTALLY AWESOME. Can we keep her?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and said:

_I'm still waiting to give my verdict._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and said:

_You're just mad cuz she kissed the Doctor._

**Onceandfutureking** reglogged **merlinsbeard** and said:

_It just seems to me like all of the companions fall in love with him. It's old. We need more like Donna, who want to see the universe for the adventure, not the romance. True love isn't so common or convenient or willy nilly._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and said:

_And you're an expert on love, are you?_

**Onceandfutureking** reblogged **merlinsbeard** and said:

_Well, I've only fallen in love once, but I think I can speak from experience when I say it's a very special thing and I don't think I will ever feel so strongly about anyone else ever again._

**Merlinsbeard** reblogged **onceandfutureking** and said:

_Get over here and kiss me you prat._

The Kinglin fangirls had a very good Christmas, indeed.


End file.
